CMHC: Ontario Home Starts Move Higher in February

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - March 8, 2011) - Ontario preliminary Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of home starts across urban* centres grew for a third consecutive month in February. An estimated 62,600 residential housing units broke ground, up from 48,400 units in January. While multi-family home construction, which includes semi-detached, townhome and apartment units, was the largest contributor to the February strength, single detached construction also edged higher and has posted better than expected activity to date in 2011. For the year ending February, Ontario total new home construction in urban areas is running 3 per cent below levels for the same period one year ago.

"Ontario new home starts activity has exhibited a seesaw pattern in recent months suggesting the downtrend in activity since the spring of 2010 is levelling out," said Ted Tsiakopoulos, CMHC`s Regional Economist. "Buoyant resale and new home market conditions since the final months of 2010, an improving economy coupled with the fear of rising rates later this year implies housing starts should move convincingly higher by the second half of 2011," added Tsiakopoulos.

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on 65 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of high quality, environmentally sustainable and affordable homes. CMHC also provides reliable, impartial and up-to-date housing market reports, analysis and knowledge to support and assist consumers and the housing industry in making informed decisions.